Brett Phillips, who delivered the Rays’ wild walk-off win in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series, announced his retirement as a player on Oct. 5.
Phillips, 31, spent parts of seven seasons as an outfielder in the majors after the Astros selected him out of Seminole High in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. He played for the Brewers, Royals, Rays, Orioles and Angels, last in 2023. He spent time after that in the minors with the White Sox and briefly in the Yankees system as a pitcher.
Phillips announced his retirement in a four-plus-minute video posted on social media. He wore a T-shirt from his “Baseball is Fun” merchandise line and stood in front of a whiteboard that listed the names of executives and coaches from each organization with which he played.
He thanked everybody from his family to friends, youth-league coaches, Tampa-based agent Tom O’Connell, signing scout John Martin, then-Astros and now Rays executive Bobby Heck, teammates and especially the fans.
In doing so, Phillips acknowledged the many people who helped him get to the big leagues, “graciously showing me each and every day what it’s supposed to look like, how to go about my business, and I know at times with my severe ADHD and energy it was probably tough, but thank you for sticking with me and again allowing me to play major-league baseball,” he said.
Phillips, who has done some TV work, said he would like to stay in the game in some capacity.
Phillips’ star turn came in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Dodgers, when he came up to bat with the Rays trailing by one with two outs and two on.
Down to his last strike, Phillips slapped a single to center that scored the tying and — after errors by centerfielder Chris Taylor and catcher Will Smith, and Randy Arozarena falling after rounding third base and getting back up — decisive run in the 8-7 win.
Phillips did an airplane run across the outfield, nearly passed out during the celebration as he couldn’t catch his breath, and afterward told Fox Sports, “Man, baseball is fun.”